Garmin Nuvi 350 gps Reviews

Recommended By Jason

I recently purchased a Garmin Nuvi 350 to replace an older Garmin 2620. Did I need to replace it? No. The 2620 worked, but I didn’t use it much because it was bulky, the UI was sluggish, and it just never quite felt right to me. Too many steps to do simple things. Too many features and buttons getting in the way.

So, back to the 350… Oh wow. The Nuvi 350 is insanely good. Next to the iPod it’s the the best piece of consumer electronics I’ve purchased in the last 5 years. It really is that good. It’s perfectly executed. Here’s why:

It’s small. Really small. 3.87 x 2.91 x 0.87 inches small. It doesn’t get in your way while you’re driving. It doesn’t feel like there’s a boulder on your dashboard. It’s just about all screen. There’s very little chrome. There are no buttons. There’s no goofy shapes or lights or anything. It’s just a nice, really bright, surprisingly clear screen.   It’s fast. The UI is always ready for you. No pauses, no lock-ups, no delays when you touch the screen. It’s refreshing (as most touch-screen based things I’ve used are usually sluggish)
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It’s all about convention over configuration. Plug it in and it works for 90% of all cases. No config. Zero learning curve (I mean it — ZERO). Yes, you can change some stuff if you want to, but there’s no need to. It couldn’t be easier to use. Really.   It speaks the name of the next street. It doesn’t just say “Turn left in 0.2 miles” it says “In 0.2 miles turn left on Paulina.” This makes a significant difference. I didn’t think it would, but it basically allows you to keep your eyes on the road (instead of a map) 99% of the time.

It has a 4-8 hour battery. This means you can take it with you (because it’s so small and light). You can walk with it if you need to know how to get somewhere on foot. You can take it with you to Europe on vacation and never get lost in the car or on foot.

You can load it up with MP3s and Audiobooks so you always have something to listen to should you forget your iPod in the car.   You can import custom points of interest that other people have compiled. For example, people can compile speed traps or police camera locations and share that file. Load that into your Nuvi and you’ll be alerted before you head into a trap.

It’s accurate and very sensitive. It even works inside my garage with no windows. Apparently this is because of a new SiRF chipset. And there’s more… But really, this is such a fantastic product. I can’t remember the last time I’ve been so satisfied with an electronic purchase. If you’re in the market for a mobile nav system for your car, bike, motocycle, or just for exploring a new city on foot without getting lost, you simply can’t go wrong with the Garmin Nuvi 350.

AWESOME product!! Worth every penny!!
By lwoods from Austin, TX

"This is an amazing little gadget! We first tried another product that we got elsewhere and it lasted all of maybe 2 to 3 hours and wasn't nearly as helpful as this Garmin even when it was working...

Our kid travels all summer for sports, and our Garmin was the envy of all the other parents who, also traveling in strange cities, were so happy they could follow someone who "knew" where they were going. It gave us freedom to leave our hotel rooms and locate restaurants, shopping, entertainment, etc. and feel comfortable that we'd find our way back and in time to venture much further than we typically do when traveling in strange cities.

Our favorite features are: (1) the voice telling us to "turn right on such-and-such road" (keeps us from having to look while driving), (2) the clock that tells us our estimated arrival time (we used that feature to know what time we needed to leave to make sure we weren't late to any games, which also re-calculates itself the entire time so you can see if you're losing or gaining time), (3) and the fact that if you skip/miss a turn or have to go around an accident/construction, it recalculates and still gets you where you need to be without making you turn around. We also loved being able to locate favorite restaurants, stores, our tournament locations, etc. often by only typing in their names (WHICH saved us from driving nearly 17 miles out of our way when we realized there was a closer same chain restaurant near our hotel.)

Even my hubby, who is NOT a techy guy and thought he didn't "need" someone giving him directions, loves it! Our use of it this past summer alone makes it worth every penny we paid! :)"

Great Product!
By BigMike07

Pros: Tons of features. Ready to use out of the box.
Cons: None so far.

"My father was put in the hospital in downtown Atlanta. My brother was trying to find directions from Birmingham to the hospital. I asked him for the address and just entered it on the touchscreen. Location popped right up and I drove straight to the hospital. Now that is peace of mind.

Once you use a GPS device, you will realize that they will soon become a "necessity" just like your cell phone. The Nuvi 350 will not dissapoint."

Would you recommend this product to a friend?: Yes